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YBC® Editorial Director LG is back with her first post of the second trimester! I hope you’re enjoying this new series - if so, comment below! XO Candace
Oh boy! We made it to the second trimester! And with that, we found out we’re having another baby boy! It feels so great to be out of the first trimester. First, your threat of miscarriage or loss dramatically decreases after the first trimester, and while you’re probably never truly in the ‘clear’ until the moment you deliver a healthy baby, I really felt a weight lifted off of me. For one, I’m sure I’m alone, but I didn’t feel comfortable telling many people that I was pregnant until I was out of the first trimester. This can be really difficult when you’re experiencing morning sickness, exhaustion, or actually beginning to show. I felt like I was hiding such a huge part of my life and it was difficult to do.
But now, at the time of this draft, I’m 15 weeks, two weeks clear of the first trimester, and I’m still reeling from a bad bout of morning sickness that had me in the E.R. for a day because of severe dehydration. It’s been touch and go, but now I’m feeling better and better and actually my energy level has returned to normal and I’m excited to ride this trimester out back with my initial set of intentions - eating healthy whole foods and staying active. So let’s see how the second trimester is hoping to go.
Nutrition
At the time of this draft, I’ve been pretty fast and loose with my eating choices and I’ve been feeling it. I think my body is not used to having a diet high in highly processed foods that it’s not helping my morning sickness at all. If anything, it’s contributing to inflammation in my gut which is not helping my nausea or energy level. Since I’ve been feeling better, and since I should be feeling better as I get further along, I plan on getting back to my to my prenatal macros for a change. This is about 300 calories over my normal caloric intake, which is exactly what my OB-GYN advised. However, if I hit my goals, I hit my goals, and if I don’t, oh well.
Mentality
I feel so much better! As I said at the end of the first trimester post, I was really feeling down and depressed. I felt sad, overwhelmed and lonely. Now that I’ve been able to ‘show’ my pregnancy and talk about it, I feel better already. Add in my increased energy and my clearer focus and I feel more and more like myself. It also feels great to get back into things I love: work with YBC®, working out, all things Teddy, and looking forward to the holidays. Plus, I put together a little registry for my new baby and it’s brought on a ton of excitement actually thinking so much about my new baby boy!
Workouts
Just today, my husband and I completed a moderate WOD of 1000m row, 50 KB Sumo Squats with Upright Row, and 25 Ring Rows, x 3. I took my time, I stayed at a steady pace and I felt so good. My heart rate climbed to about 145, which for me, is a moderate pace (160 being high) and I had a nice long stretch after. A good way to know if you’re exercising in a safe prenatal zone is to do the talk test. If you can still speak in sentences during your workout, you are in a safe prenatal exercising range. If you are gasping for air and can’t speak a sentence but have to go word - breath - word - breath, then you need to slow down. If my energy continues, and my stretching wards off any muscle strains, I look forward to maintaining steady sweat sessions this trimester!
One thing to remember, don’t try to break any personal records here. Now is not the time to pile on a bunch of weight and go heavy. Go at your normal pre-pregnancy pace or weight, or even a bit lighter, because your body is more prone to injury with the increase of the hormone relaxin. Be very careful because your first priority is taking care of yourself and while that does mean maintaining physical fitness, it also means active warmups, static stretching, and focus and concentration during your workout.
I also went ahead and ordered some maternity clothes with the holiday sales that were appearing and while I’m still not showing too much, I’m looking forward to these items below!
Here’s hoping for a calm, cool and collective second trimester! If you have any comments or questions, or want to share your own experience, comment below or email me here!